The Post Doctoral Research Associates Program

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The Post Doctoral Research Associates Program

• Manorama M. Khare, PhD
• Evaluator, WISEST Senior Research Specialist,
  Center for Research on Women and Gender
• Mo-Yin S. Tam, Professor of Economics PI, WISEST
  Vice-Provost
• Office of Faculty Affairs, UIC
• March 12, 2010

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A WISEST (UIC NSF ADVANCE IT Grant) Program

• The goal of the WISEST Initiative is to increase
  the number, participation, and leadership status
  of women - majority and minority - in academic
  science and engineering through institutional
  transformation at UIC.
• www.uicwisest.org

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The WISEST Postdoctoral Research Associates
Program

• WISEST postdoc program
• Cohort (5 URM postdocs)
• Goal mentor postdoc to become a faculty member
• Engaged in research of choice of postoc (matched
  with a mentor)
• Mentored by a cadre of mentors
• 2 -year program (2007-2009)
• Funded jointly by WISEST and the academic units
• Structured training/skill career building
  program

• Standard postdoc program
• Individual with an advisor
• Goal mentor psotdoc to be successful in a
  specific research project
• Engaged a research program funded by the
  advisors grant
• Mentored by the advisor
• Length varies
• Funded by the advisors grant
• No formal program

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Working with NPA

• Program created by working with the National
  Postdoctoral Association (NPA) Diversity
  Sub-committee
• Components recommended by the NPA
• Proactive Recruitment
• Program Components
• MOU between advisors and post doc associate
• Individual Career Development Plan (ICDP)
• Career Building Seminar Series

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Outline

• Recruitment
• Finding URM STEM women
• Application Process
• Applicant Pool
• Applicant Selection
• Final Candidates
• Key features of the program
• Matching research interests
• Cadre of mentors
• Structured training and skill building
• Assessment of the Program
• Where are the postdocs now?
• Cost of the Program
• Lessons learned

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Recruitment Finding URM STEM women

• Intensive Proactive Search
• Advertised through job sites such as
• Science Careers.org
• Naturejobs.org
• The Scientist
• Sciencejobs

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Recruitment Finding URM STEM women

• Intensive Proactive Search
• NPA contacts
• National Research Council
• Ford Foundation Diversity Fellowship Program
• Alliances for Graduate Education and the
  Professoriate-National Science Foundation (AGEP)
• National Postdoctoral Association
• MentorNet
• SACNAS Postdoc Committee
• UNCF/Merck Postdoctoral Science Research
  Fellowships
• AAAS MiSciNet Minority Scientists Network

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Recruitment Finding URM STEM women

• Intensive Proactive Search
• Science and Math Organizations
• American Indian Science and Engineering Society
• American Physical Society Committee on the Status
  of Women in Physics
• Association for Women in Mathematics
• Society of Women Engineers
• The Woman Astronomer

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Recruitment Finding URM STEM women

• Using the SUCCEED search training model for
  recruitment
• Faculty called departments and their contacts to
  identify potential candidates

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Recruitment Finding URM STEM women

• How did we find the final 5 candidates
• All 5 through web advertisements
• 1 also had worked for another ADVANCE program

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Recruitment Application process

• Two Part Application Process
• Part 1 Eligibility requirements
• Candidate had to be a U.S. citizen or permanent
• resident
• Candidate must have completed a doctoral degree
• in a STEM field as of August 2007
• Other reviewed materials reference letters,
  papers/abstracts, CV, career statement

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Recruitment Application process

• Two Part Application Process
• Part 2 Invitation to apply
• Candidate was required to identify a research
  advisor at UIC
• Candidate potential adviser collaboratively
• submitted a research project

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Recruitment Applicant Pool

• Race/Ethnicity of Applicant pool

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Recruitment Applicant Pool

• Where were the applicants from?
• 3 Illinois
• 21 other states
• 1 UK
• 3 Not available

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Recruitment Applicant Pool

• What disciplines did they represent?

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Recruitment Applicant Pool

• A total of 28 applications received
• 13 (46) completed Part 1
• 10 (36) invited to complete Part 2
• 6 (21) completed Part 2
• 6 offers 5 (18) accepted

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Recruitment Applicant Selection

• Selection of final candidates was based on
• Matching of postdoc research interest with a UIC
  STEM faculty member
• The merit of the collaboratively designed
  research project submitted

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Recruitment Final Candidates

• 5 URM women postdocs were hired
• 1 African American 3 Latinas 1 Native
  American/Asian
• 1 Chemical Engineer 1 Earth Scientist 3
  Biologists

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Key features Matching Research Interests

• Serving research interest of postdocs
• (funded by WISEST and the department)

Research Interest of Postdoc
Research Interests of STEM faculty
Example A a postdoc interest being intersection
of 3 faculty interest (3 mentors)
Example B a postdoc interest partially matched
by one faculty member brought in an external
researcher (1 internal and 1 external mentor)
External Mentors
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Key Features Cadre of Mentors

• Multi-member Mentoring Team
• The research advisor
• The departmental mentor
• The WISEST facilitator
• The WISEST Director
• An external mentor (optional )

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Key Features UIC Facilitator Model

• Features
• One from each department
• The group meets monthly
• Facilitators are mentors
• Facilitator contributes to training

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Key Features Structured Training and Skill
Building

• The Postdoctoral Institute for Career
  Development and Academic Diversity
• Is a series of skill building seminars and
  panels on topics such as Setting Goals
  Objectives Work-life Balance Research Integrity
  Data Management Managing Research Projects
  the Job Search Grant writing Getting Funded
  Getting Published Increasing your Visibility
  Preparing an Application Package Obtaining
  Negotiating a Faculty Position Proposal
  Presentations Developing a Research Program, not
  just a series of projects Gender Culture
  Issues Dynamics in Academe The Complete
  Application Package
• Sessions were conducted by faculty from UIC,
  experts in specific topics, scientists from
  Argonne Labs.

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The Postdoc Institute The Postdoc Institute The Postdoc Institute The Postdoc Institute The Postdoc Institute The Postdoc Institute
1. Balancing personal and professional life 2. Research integrity, data management, managing your research 3. Getting mentored, networking. Cultivating "sponsors." Setting up collaborations 4. The job search finding the right match 5. Overview of the funding process NSF. NIH, DOE, DoD 6. Getting published. Responding to reviewers
7. Panelists discuss each submitted proposal in turn 8. Preparing an application package ICV, cover letter, research statement/proposal, teaching philosophy 9. Preparing an application package IIfinding a suitable niche, positioning oneself in the faculty job market 10.. Search Committee review of submitted application package 11. Preparing for the campus interview, negotiating an offer 12. Giving a job talk (research proposal)
13. A 30-min mock job interview one-on-one with a senior professor of the hiring department 14. Research presentations formal 50-min talks by participants on their completed work to host department 15. Anatomy of an NSF proposal. Preparing a budget for an NSF CAREER proposal. 16. Getting started, Staffing your laboratory 17. Your role as a lab leader, building sustaining an effective team 18. Final progress report
Case studies
Panel discussion
Manuscript review
Application package review by panel
Proposal review by panel
Team-on-one
Informal job talk (proposal) to mock Search
committee
Presentation followed by discussion
One-on-one interview
IV.5. Slides from UIC NSF Mid-Award Visit
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Assessment of the Program

• How do we assess
• One on One interviews with the post doctoral
  associates before and after the 2 year program
• Survey with the mentors after the program to
  learn about their experience and get their
  recommendations for the future.

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Assessment of the ProgramInterviews with
postdoctoral associates

• Topics covered in baseline and follow up
  interviews include
• Experience with program
• i.e. How would you describe your experience with
  the program and the people involved?
• Goals for the program
• i.e. Do you feel you have achieved these goals
  you set out for yourself?
• Personal strengths and weaknesses
• i.e. What do you see as your main strengths as a
  candidate for academic positions?
• Program strengths and weaknesses
• i.e. What do you see as the main strengths of
  this fellowship program?
• Perception of specific program components
• i.e. Are there any specific components you would
  like to see modified or added onto the program?

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Assessment of the ProgramFindings from postdoc
interviews

• Experience with the program
• Both before and after the 2 year program the
  words the postdocs used to describe the program
  were wholistic, constructive, supportive,
  informative, and educational.

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Assessment of the ProgramFindings from postdoc
interviews Goals

• Goals at the start of the program
• Make a decision on the career to pursue
• Learn new research techniques skills needed to
  be successful in an academic position
• Develop and strengthen teaching skills
• Be confident about mentoring students
• Gain experience in writing and submitting grants
• Produce at least 2 publications from the 2 years
  of work

• Outcomes at the end of the program
• 3 postdocs reported meeting all of the goals, 2
  met some of the goals
• 4 of 5 reported learning new skills
• All improved their teaching skills, in the words
  of one of them I used my mentors to get advice
  on how to structure a class. I created the class
  and I had not had the experience before.
• All published at least one paper

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Assessment of the ProgramFindings from postdoc
interviews personal strengths and weaknesses as
a candidate

• Strengths
• Research experience and skills (4 of 5 report)
• Publications (2 of 5)
• Expanded network of researchers and collaborators
  (2 of 5)
• Funding record (1 of 5)
• Awareness of subtleties and challenges of
  academia

• Weaknesses (varied)
• Lack of focus on a single research area
• Lack of skill in a specific methodology
• Lack of grant writing experience
• Adequate teaching experience developing a
  course

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Assessment of the ProgramFindings from postdoc
interviews program strengths and weaknesses

• Program Strengths
• Postdoc Institute Seminars
• Developing their own research proposals
• The mentoring team

• Program Weaknesses
• Research Funding
• Money is a weakness because none of us are
  truly independent from the work of our mentors.

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Assessment of the ProgramFindings from postdoc
interviews

• Overall impressions
• 4 of 5 postdocs reported that their experience
  was very successful
• the program opened up new opportunities for them
  in regard to networking and developing their
  skills for an academic position.
• One said, I learned things that I didnt know I
  even needed to learn.
• Working as a cohort - I think the post doc world
  can be isolating and it was great to be brought
  in with a group at the same time.

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Assessment of the Program On-line survey for
Mentors

• Topics covered include
• Experience as a WISEST mentor
• i.e. Please rate the importance of the benefits
  you have experienced as a WISEST mentor.
• Mentor/mentee relationship
• i.e. What factors were enablers/ barriers to your
  relationship with your mentee?
• Mentee skills
• i.e. Do you think your mentee is ready to enter
  the academic job search process?
• Perceptions of program components
• i.e. How useful were the Post Doctoral Institute
  seminars to your mentee?
• Overall experience with program
• i.e. Would you be a mentor again?

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Assessment of the ProgramFindings from the
Mentor Survey Description of Mentors

• Total of 18 mentors were sent the survey
• 12 internal 6 external
• Total of 9 responses (response rate 50)
• 7 internal 2 external
• 7 mentored one postdoc, 1 mentored 2 postdocs,
  and 1 mentored 3 postdocs

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Role of the Mentor
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Assessment of the ProgramFindings from the
Mentor Survey Reasons why they chose to be a
mentor

• Mentees need your experience,
• Potential to learn from your mentees,
• Help conducting their research.
• Personal satisfaction, relationship building,
  recognition from your department/UIC, and
  networking were other factors mentioned

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Assessment of the ProgramFindings from the
Mentor Survey Enablers and Barriers to
successful mentoring

• Enablers
• Initiative of the mentee
• Common research interests
• Support from the department

• Barriers
• Lack of initiative from the mentee
• Lack of time
• Conflicting personalities

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Assessment of the ProgramFindings from the
Mentor Survey Most time spent

• The top three skills mentors spent most of
  their time on
• Research skills
• Networking
• Grant writing

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Assessment of the ProgramFindings from the
Mentor Survey - Overall comments

• Overall the mentors were satisfied with the
  program
• Need to provide travel and research money
• Include more networking
• Networking with STEM women faculty at UIC and in
  neighboring institutions is also very important
  and was not a formal component of the program.
• Needed more guidance about their roles as mentors

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Where are these postdocs now

• Two were offered and accepted tenure track
  positions
• One was offered a tenure track position but chose
  to do another post doc
• One accepted an adjunct research faculty position
• One did not inform WISEST of future plans

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Cost of the Program

• Required matching of salary from the departments
• Total cost per postdoc for 2 years 100,000 with
  full medical dental benefits
• Donated time from the advisors and mentors
• Office space, adminstrative support from the
  department

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VIII. Lessons Learned

• Additional research and travel funding should be
  provided by the program
• Program is resource and labor intensive, but this
  is necessary for success
• Features contributed to the success
• Serving the postdoc interest
• A strong mentoring relationship
• Training and skill building postdoc institute
• Disciplines of post docs should mirror
  institutional need for tenure-faculty. This
  process is more likely to mutually benefit the
  post doc and the institution.

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• A holistic way of training post docs is ideal
  and desired. I havent had to trade off my
  research productivity to have a more holistic
  program.

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Questions??

• For more information contact
• Manorama Khare
• mkhare1_at_uic.edu